Life Well Lived In The Odyssey

According to Homer, a life well-lived is one that has a balance between gaining honor in war and being home with family as well as finding a balance between working hard and enjoying the outcomes of the hard work. Homer depicts a life well-lived in the Iliad and the Odyssey through his descriptions of Achilles’ shield, Achilles’ regret, Odysseus’ need to be home, and Menelaus’ life after war. Homer gives the audience a clear depiction of what a life well-lived is based on his description of Achilles’ shield. In the center of the shield Hephaestus made the earth, sea, sun, moon, and the constellations (I, Bk. 18, 565-571). Next, he made two cities: one at peace and one at war (I, Bk. 18, 572-628). By including both a city at war and a city at peace,

Neither of the cities are described as bigger than the other suggesting that there has to be a balance between peace and war in life. Homer continues to describe the shield with Hephaestus forging various scenes of agriculture. There are scenes of fields, people harvesting, vineyards, cattle, and sheep (I, Bk. 18, 629- 688). The scenes with the field and the harvest include descriptions of people working hard on the land suggesting that Homer believes that hard work is an important aspect of living life right. Homer also believes that people should enjoy the outcomes of their hard work as shown by the king “rejoicing” (I, Bk. 18, 647) when he thought about the harvest before him. The scene with the vineyards includes children picking grapes and singing which further emphasizes the point Homer makes about enjoying life. After the description of the agriculture scenes, Homer describes Hephaestus forging a scene of boys and girls dancing (I, Bk. 18, 689-707). The crowd watching the dancing boys and girls is described as “struck with joy”